Flying Lizard Motorsports Porsche Cayman PWC Baptista

I love getting to my motorsports assignments early in the day and working my way through the garages, pits and paddocks to view, up close and personal, the machines that will be racing in the day’s events. The cars are in pristine condition, often with fresh paint schemes and sponsor logos displayed. There is no road grime or rubber residue on the machines and rarely does a sports car, stock car or Moto America motorcycle show up on race day with any body damage. As I was walking through the paddock on the morning of The Pirelli World Challenge at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut I came across the Flying Lizard Motorsports Racing Team’s hauler and shelter. I was taken aback by the beautiful grey and red color scheme of this Porsche Cayman GTS sports car. Little did I know that in a few short hours driver, Rodrigo Baptista, would get the checkered flag for the win in the premier event held that day. I try to capture images of the teams at work in their temporary digs. Race fans are interested in seeing what goes on behind the scenes as well as what happens on the track. Race teams and their sponsors often invite some VIPs to the events and a seasoned veteran photographer will know how to quickly set up and capture some professional photographs of the visiting dignitaries. Some of my favorite images this year came from the pit areas of the two NHRA Mello Yello national events that I covered…The New England Nationals in Epping, NH and The Summernationals at Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ. The pit areas of motorcycle road races are a sight to behold. Many team riders compete in a number of different race classes and their garage spots will sport a lineup of different motorcycles for each of the classes they compete in. I’ve seen this phenomenon at The Championship Cup Series Races and The MotoAmerica races at New Jersey Motorsports Park (NJMP) in Milleville, NJ and at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) in Loudon, NH, home of the Loudon Road Race Series and The Loudon Classic. When you hire your photographer for your next magazine editorial or public relations project be sure to tell them to spend a few minutes behind the scenes. You’ll be glad they did.